Thursday night I went with one of the Aussies to the tiny Barfly to see The Willard Grant Conspiracy. They were better than I’d hoped, we really enjoyed them. It was…hmm, like Wilco + Neil Young + Nick Cave, sorta. Country-blues, with this deep moody singing, but extended guitar jams. Very heartful, rootsy, little polish or glam to it: it came across well in the tiny room. I really enjoy the collective, flexible ethic of the whole enterprise, too.

No single recent event has elicited a sudden sense of my own mortality as today, when I was screaming down Highway 10 after work listening to PF’s DSOTM at volume 9/10 when I realized that the vehicle ahead of me was coffin-laden and driving about 30 km/h slower than I. Slowing to match its speed, the great chiming intro of “Time” started on the CD player (yes, old fashioned discs, TimmyD) and I spent the next 7 minutes tailing someone’s earthly remains listening to PF into the start of GGITS as they pulled into the cemetary on the far side of town.

Hugged my daughter dearest immediately upon arrival.

I imagine the next such opportunity for reflection will be when Baby Blogler v2 arrives on or before April 13.

After yesterday’s U2 ticket-buying fiasco, I’ve been reading lists and blogs everywhere with thousands of similar tales of woe. Of course, there were some smug people who waited (either by choice or not) and found themselves getting sweet tickets after the Ticketbastard servers and fanclub access were reset. Those of us who jumped to get any tickets – no matter how expensive or how far back – yesterday are only left with, “Oh, well, I least I got something…”

I’ve seen a couple of articles recently that give me faith that medical science – and medical sense – are causing a reversal of some worrying trends.

Treatments that don’t work

In 2012 the previous Australian federal government asked the Australian chief medical officer for a review of “natural” therapies that were – and still are – covered by Medicare and many private insurance policies. Those treatments included naturopathy, aromatherapy, ear candling, crystal therapy, flower essences, homeopathy, iridology, kinesiology, reiki and rolfing.

This was welcomed by anyone who approves of taxpayer money being spent on treatments for which there is clinical evidence.

The Australian newspaper has posted a couple of articles in recent days (which I haven’t linked because they’re behind paywalls) about leaks that that review will be released soon, and it will not be good for those alternative therapies. Homeopathy got an early knocking already last year. Bravo, I say.This letter to the Australian agrees.

It’s a shame that practices like acupuncture, chiropractic, and Chinese medicine were explicitly omitted from the review, but it’s still a very good step.

Homeopathic Literature

Anti-vaccine movement declines

In other good news, the Guardian reports that “the income and membership of the Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network (AVN) has significantly diminished in the past three years”. Both media and governments are treating the AVN appropriately (that is, they’re not pretending that theirs is an informed or balanced view), and people are responding.

While there was to be a new $110m+ medical research fund, the unwise doctor’s visit co-payment the Liberal government proposed to deliver it is likely to be abandoned.

An opposition party will always spin hyperbole, but the Australian Labor Partymakes a reasonable case that cuts to university and preventative health programs means the overall cuts to science are much bigger, despite their attempt at funding medical research. Someone who has been involved in research grant administration in North America agrees strongly with this view.

I’ve heard a song I really liked on triple j in the last couple of weeks. It’s bluesy, cool, and with some rockin’ guitar. The group is called Harts, and this is the song:

Turns out it’s not a group at all. It’s a guy, and he plays, records, and mixes his songs all by himself in his bedroom in Melbourne. I think he rocks. He incorporates a lot of the things I like most about music: blues, funk, falsetto singing, bass, and guitar riffery. Check this out:

Anyone hoping for greatest hits would be disappointed. He played for over 2 hours but until the encore produced only 3 songs written before 1997 (“She Belongs To Me”, “Tangled Up In Blue”, and “Simple Twist of Fate”). That’s OK, I’ve seen plenty of the classicsbefore.

Songs like “Things Have Changed”, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’”, and “Love Sick” pack a lot of punch with me. I was amazed that even recent songs like “Duquesne Whistle” have already been reworked into nearly unrecognizable versions.

The band is perfect. There are, as always, no frills. It’s an otherworldly combination of loose and laser-sharp, of legendary music and classics that are only a year old. It’s every bit of blues, jazz, rock, country, and folk Americana music on one stage.

Highlights? Bob playing at a grand piano instead of the little keyboard he’s used in the past, and “High Water (For Charley Patton)”. The full setlist is here.

Triple j‘s Like a Version is always a must-listen on my way into work on a Friday morning. Today’s was an excellent amalgam of two of my favourite acts: First Aid Kit covering Jack White’s “Love Interruption”.

If you’re a Tenacious D fan, watch from the start (a bit of a Jack Black/Jack White contrast). Otherwise, the serious stuff starts from about 1:00.